1. The Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to trailer hitch systems, and more particularly, but not necessarily entirely, to trailer hitch systems that facilitate connecting trailers to tow vehicles.
The present invention relates generally to a jack stand and methods of making and using same. In particular, but not by way of limitation, the present invention relates to a jack stand having a means for moving the foot assembly of the jack stand from a ground engaging configuration to an upright stored configuration.
2. Description of Related Art
Various different types of trailer hitches are known in the art for attaching trailers to towing vehicles. One of the most common types of towing systems utilizes a ball hitch. Typical ball hitches have a generally spherical shaped ball with a stem or threaded rod extending from a base of the ball. The threaded rod may be configured to engage a ball mount mounted on the towing vehicle using a threaded receiver or ball hitch fitting. A trailer coupling member, such as a ball clamp, positioned on a front of the trailer tongue, may engage the ball hitch in a loose friction fit, and may be secured to the ball in preparation for towing. Some hitches may also have load equalizing systems to distribute loads and allow the towing vehicle and trailer to remain level. Other mechanisms may also be used in association with a trailer hitch to reduce side sway of the trailer. Most trailers include a jacking system for assisting in hitching and leveling to a tow vehicle.
A common challenge with the known trailer hitch systems is attaching the trailer to the tow vehicle. Difficulty may arise in properly aligning the trailer vertically with the tow vehicle. Commonly a jacking device is used to align the trailer hitch and tow vehicle by raising a lowering the tongue of the trailer. The jacking device after use must be stowed out of the way so the driving can be done safely. Along unimproved roads, the distance required for the trailer jack to clear any such obstacles would often be extensive or not quite enough leading to situations where the trailer tongue would become lodged in the ground rendering any movement futile. Most commonly this stowing is done by continuing the jacking process to pull the foot up and out of the way. This can take a great amount of time effort.
There have been many attempts to improve the method of aligning trailers to tow vehicles, yet the most common method remains the conventional jack attached at the tongue, even though such a method has several drawbacks. The tongue of a two-wheel (or a trailer having any number of wheels or axles) trailer is conventionally provided with a jack having a telescoping vertical element which extends below the plane of the trailer tongue. One of the drawbacks of the conventional jack system and jacking method may include the many number of movements needed to take advantage of the mechanical properties to the jacking design. Many turns may be needed to raise and lower the tongue, or to level the trailer for use. These many turns must be repeated every time the trailer is connected or disconnected.
Other trailer hitch systems may use a jack that is geared to move faster. In other words one actuation of the jack lever raises and lowers the trailer tongue more per actuation than a jack system designed to handle a very heavy trailer.
Another jacking system may be designed to handle a very heavy weight and therefore is generally slow, using the mechanical advantage of the design to over come the heavy load. In such a system many actuations are required to move the trailer a very short distance.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a side view of a trailer 10 and towing vehicle 20 system is shown.
The trailer 10 and towing vehicle 20 may include a ball hitch 12 for attaching to a ball socket 14 on a tongue 16 of the trailer 10 in a manner known in the art. It will be understood that the trailer 10 and towing vehicle 20 system may be made more convenient, as explained more fully below, to allow the ball hitch 12 to be aligned more easily and faster with the socket 14 on tongue 16 when the trailer 10 is detached and attached to and from the towing vehicle 20.
A jack 18 may be used on the tongue 16 to raise and lower the tongue 16 of the trailer 10 to aid in the hitching of the tow vehicle 20 with the trailer 10. A jack 18 is generally made up of an actuation portion 22, a post portion 24 and a foot portion 26. The actuation portion 22 may comprise a user interface which is commonly a handle or crank of some kind. In the case of a handle and crank, the user would take the handle in its hand and rotate the crank in a circular motion. The force applied by the user is multiplied by the mechanical advantage of the jacking mechanism. An electric motor may also be employed to actuate the jack mechanism. An electric motor may be configured to run at the optimal speed for a balance of speed and power. In the case of a trailer the mechanical mechanism of the jack requires a great amount of motion at the handle and produces a small amount of motion at the post portion 24 or foot portions 26. The post portion 24 rigidly fixes the foot portion 26 to the drive mechanism or the jack 18. The foot portion 26 generally makes contact with the ground and is typically wider than the post portion 24 to distribute the weight of the trailer 10.
In use, the tow vehicle may be positioned near the trailer such that the ball 12 on the vehicle 20 is located under the ball socket 14 of the trailer 10. As is shown in FIG. 2, the ball socket 14 may be lowered over ball 12 by actuating the jack 18 with the crank handle 22, thereby retracting upwardly the jack post 24 and jack foot 26, which, in turn, allows the tongue 16 (and ball socket 14) to lower under force of gravity. As the ball 12 makes contact inside the ball socket 14, the weight of the trailer 10 is transferred from the jack foot 26 to the vehicle 20.
With reference now to FIG. 3, one of the shortcomings of the prior art will be discussed. In order to make the trailer 20 ready for towing, the jack foot 26 must be raised up and out of the way so that it does not contact the ground during travel. FIG. 3 depicts the jack foot 26 raised in the upper-most position. With the trailer's weight resting on the vehicle, the mechanical advantage of the jack makes for a tedious and time consuming process in raising the jack foot high enough to be out of the way of ground contact risk.
Illustrated in FIG. 4 is a typical mechanical jack 18. The mechanics of the jack may be of a screw type, step-lever type, or any other typed known in the art. For illustration purposes, a screw-type jack will be discussed. A screw-type jack derives its usefulness by using the ramping of the threads 40 on a drive axle 41 against corresponding structures on a ram or jack post 24 to move the jack post 24 in or out. In use, an operator would grasp the crank handle 22 and turn the crank 23 about the axis of the drive axle 41. The crank 23 can be easily replaced by an electric motor that would then drive the drive axle 41. Depending on the direction of the rotation of the crank 23, the jack post 24 will either raise or lower. The mechanical exchange in such machines is an inverse relationship between power and distance. Accordingly, the typical jack used on a trailer needs to convert low input power but large distance travel at the handle into high output power, but small distance travel at the jack post to move the heavy weight of a trailer. Therefore, even after the weight of the trailer is resting on the vehicle, continuing to move the jack foot up and out of the way of ground contact risk takes a lot of motion and time.
Often people use blocks of wood 50 or other material to place under the jack foot 26, as seen in FIG. 5, such that in use, the blocks can be quickly removed and thereby negate the need to move the jack 18 some distance where its mechanical advantage is not needed. The blocks however need to be stored when not in use, and are unsightly when in use or being stored.
At the end of this telescoping jack post is typically found a “foot” which rests on the ground to support and/or level the forward end of the trailer. In order for the trailer jack to be out of the way during towing, it has been traditional for the entirety of the trailer jack to be pivoted such that the trailer jack was in a substantially horizontal alignment with the trailer tongue when the trailer was attached to a towing vehicle. During road travel the foot would have to be elevated a considerable distance off of the ground in order for the trailer jack to clear any obstacles or uneven areas in the road to be traveled.
Either of the above-mentioned means for moving the trailer jack sufficiently out of the way of ground contact risk during transport require significant physical exertion on the part of the operator. If the trailer jack is pivoted into a horizontal position, oftentimes the pins and springs used during the pivoting process have been corroded or rusted by exposure to the weather. If these items have frozen in place, the operator has no choice but to expend considerable effort to free them in order to move the trailer jack into the horizontal position. If the trailer jack is elevated to a height sufficient to clear obstacles in the road, the elevation must be quite extensive in order to clear all potential obstacles. Additionally, the operator must exert extensive effort to ensure that the elevation is accomplished while the mechanical means for elevating the trailer hitch are oftentimes rusted and/or frozen.
The prior art is characterized by these and other disadvantages that are addressed by the present disclosure. The present disclosure minimizes, and in some aspects eliminates, the above-mentioned failures, and other problems, by utilizing the methods and structural features described herein.